Pneumatic material handling and drying apparatus



uFume 4, 1946., A. L. SMiTH 2,491,438

PNEUMATIC MATERIAL HANDLING AND DRYING APPARATUS Filed May 27, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fly. 2-

ALL. smnh INVENTOR BYJQU KX f ATTORNEY June 4, iMfi. A. 1.. SMITH I 3 PNEUMATIC MATERIAL HANDLING AND DRYING APPARATUS Filed May 27, 1944 2 Sh'ets-Sheei 2 AQL. Sm/fh.

; Fig. 4 :MNTOR ATTORNEY Patented June 4, 1946 PNEUMATIC MATERIAL HANDLING AND DRYING APPARATUS Algernon L.

Continental Gin Delaware Smith, Birmingham, Ala., assignor to Company, a corporation of Application May 27, 1944, Serial No. 537,761

This invention relates to pneumatic material handling apparatus and has for an object the provision of simple, economical means for drying material being handled while in transit.

Another object of my invention is to provide, in a, pneumatic material handling apparatus, means for withdrawing air from the material while in transit and heating the air and returning it to the apparatus to accompany the material to a point of delivery and remove moisture therefrom.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a means for drying seed cotton while in transit to the ginning apparatus from the vehicle in which it is brought to the cotton gin, such means to include means to separate the air stream from the cotton, and heat and return the heated air to the cotton stream to convey the cotton to its point of delivery, or separator in advance of the gin stand,

As is well known in the art to which my invention relates, seed cotton as it comes from the field may be heavily laden with moisture. On

that account it is relatively hard to separate the lint from the seed and in addition it makes a bad sample. Heretofore, in this art, it has been the general practice in handling wet cotton to pass the material first through a, separator to separate the air stream and the cotton, then to pass the cotton through a drying apparatus, followed by other conveying apparatus to carry the cotton to the gin. In accordance with my invention, the cotton is handled pneumatically with a single fan from the wagon to the separator immediately ahead of the gin and the drying is accomplished by withdrawing or by-passing the air stream immediately ahead of the fan and conveying it into the fan intake, with means interposed to heat the air between the point of its separation, and the fan intake. It will be seen from the following description that my improved apparatus may be used to advantage with materials other than cotton which may be handled pneumatically.

Apparatus embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view showing a cotton gin having my invention associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the drying apparatus;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the fan, partly in section, and showing the means for withdrawing the air from the stream of air and cotton; and

3 Claims. (Cl. 34-57) Fig. 4 is an elevational view taken at right angles to Fig. 3.

7 Referring to the drawings for a better understanding of my invention 1 show a gin layout comprising a fan I, a suction pipe 2 for unloading cotton from a wagon or truck, and a delivery conduit 3.' The cotton, as it is delivered from the fan I, may pass through a cleaner '4 or through a by-pass 5'to a separator 6; .From the separator the cotton is delivered by a vacuum feeder to a distributor I and thence to a gin 8.

My improved means for drying the cotton consists in the special design of the fan 1. whereby the air conveying the cotton throughthe suction pipe 2 may be separated from the cotton and heated and returned to the fan I to pass out with the cotton and dry it. In order to accomplish this, the fan casing 9 is provided with a tangential material inlet I0 and a tangential dis-, charge outlet II. A bridge wall l2 separates the inlet H) from the discharge outlet II. The fan rotor is shown at '13 and it will be noted that the blades of the rotor have relatively close clearance with respect to the bridge wall l2 so that the bridge wall l2 acts as a valve to close off the discharge of air from the rotor as it approaches the tangential material inlet Ill.

The suction pipe 2, adjacent tangential material inlet lll, is provided with a pluralit of holes 14 in the sides and topthereof and a housing l5 envelopes the sides and top of the inlet to withdraw air from the stream of air and cotton approaching the inlet. .The housing 15 is connected at l6 to a conduit ll leading to a, heater [8. The heater I8 may be of any approved design and for the purpose of illustration is herein shown as having connections 19 which supply steam or other heating medium to a system of tubes 20 within the heater over which the air passes and is heated. After being heated, the air passes through a conduit 2| to the axial fan inlet 22 from whence the heated air is expelled by the fan through the tangential discharge outlet H to the discharge pipe 3 and from thence to the gin 8 as hereinbefore described.

From the foregoing description the operation of my improved apparatus will be apparent. The stream of cotton and air being drawn toward the fan I through the suction conduit 2 has a very high velocity and when it enters the tangential inlet H) has sufficient momentum for the cotton to enter the casing 9 tangentially. The action of the fan causes the air to be withdrawn through the holes M from whence it passes through the conduit ll to the heater l8 and thence to the fan inlet 22. The heated air then again becomes mixed with the cotton and provides the propelling force for conveying the cotton to the gin 8. The moisture in the cotton is taken up by the air and the moist air is separated from the cotton by the separator 6. If required by the condition' of the cotton, the heated air and cotton may be passed through the cleaner 4 en route to the separator 6.

Preferably, the fan I is constructed as illustrated in the drawings with the shaft horizontal and with the tangential inlet l entering the casing 9 horizontally in the upper part of the casing and with the tangential outlet ll disposed horizontally beneath the inlet ID in the lower part of the casing 9. The holes M in the housing I should have a total area sufiicient to Withdraw the air from the tangential inlet I0 without imparting too high a velocity to the air as it is being withdrawn, and thus interfering with the discharge of cotton into the fan casing 9. a

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have devised an improved pneumatic means for handling material which includes simple, economical means for drying the material while in transit.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obviousto those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire,

4 placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a pneumatic material handling system, a suction fan having a casing with a tangential material inlet, a tangential outlet and an axial air inlet, a suction conduit connected to the material inlet, a by pass conduit from the suction conduit to the air inlet, and air heating means interposed in the by pass conduit.

2. In pneumatic material handling apparatus,

7 a suction fan, a casing for the fan having a therefore, that only such limitations shall be tangential material inlet, and an axial air inlet, a suction conduit for conveying air and material to the material inlet and having openings in the walls thereof where it approaches the material inlet, a by pass conduit connecting the openings in the suction conduit with the air inlet, and an air heater interposed in said by pass conduit.

3. In a pneumatic material handling system, a suction fan disposed with its axis of operation horizontal and having a casing with an axial air inlet, a tangential material inlet, and a tangential material outlet, a portion of the casing Wall separating the material inlet and the outlet, a rotor in the casing having relatively close clearance with said wall portion, a suction conduit connected to the material inlet, a by pass disposed to withdraw air from the suction conduit immediately in advance of the material inlet and convey it to the air inlet, and air heating means interposed in the by pass.

ALGERNON L. SMITH. 

